Scoot: Can you be a true Saints fan and be critical of the Saints?

by Scoot,posted Dec 17 2013 2:47PM

During the Saints humiliating loss to the St. Louis Rams Sunday, I was tweeting and posting comments on my Facebook posts. A few of the responses questioned the loyalty of any Saints fan who was critical of the Saints, implying that true believers in the Saints would replace their criticism with undying faith that the Saints will get to the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.

This raises the question of whether or not you can call yourself a true Saints fan and be critical of the Saints after an embarrassing performance. I find the question to be absurd, yet there are countless Saints fans who say anyone who criticizes the Saints – even after a poor performance – is not really a true Saints fan.

The word “fan” is an abbreviation for fanatic, but the behavior that is labeled fanatic does not assume one must be void of intelligent analysis as to why a team wins or loses. Blind faith and enthusiasm on the part of the fans suggest an unwillingness to accept reality.

Sunday against the Rams in St. Louis, the Saints’ performance was so pitiful that failure to be critical would essentially amount to acceptance of mediocrity. The Saints are 10-4 and still in control of their destiny in the NFC South, and that is a great position to be in at this point in the season. However, Saints fans should be disappointed that the team did not perform up to expectations. The loss on Monday Night Football to the Seahawks was embarrassing and another example of the Saints failing to take their show on the road, but Seattle is now one of the elite teams in the NFL and playing like a team that can win the Super Bowl. There is really no excuse for the Saints performing the way they did Sunday against the Rams – a team that is eliminated from the playoffs and playing with a back-up quarterback. And to further accentuate the Saints’ poor performance was the fact that the Saints were playing – not only a less talented team – but they were playing to clinch a playoff berth.
The fact that the Saints are 10-4 is positive, but what the team and the fans should not settle for is failing to play up to potential. New Orleans has changed dramatically since Katrina, but as a native I have been aware of a degree of complacency in this city. Maybe our relaxed and party mentality encourages us to be satisfied with just being good, but this city has been on a mission to be great. Under the leadership of Sean Payton and Drew Brees, the Saints have reflected the desire to be great, which is becoming ingrained in the spirit of this city. But Sunday, the Saints failed and fans would be doing the team a disservice of they were not openly critical as a way of expecting their best in every game.

So what went wrong? Why did the Saints play so poorly in a game that had significant playoff implications? Was it the players? Was it the coaching? The answer is “yes” – it was both. Football is not just about match-ups, records and statistics. Football is also about emotion and psychology. I like to use sports as a metaphor for life and what happened in St. Louis on Sunday is very human, but it is something that peak performers overcome.
The Saints have a recent history of not playing well against the Rams in St. Louis. Two years ago, a winless Rams team embarrassed the Saints with a victory. If a team, or an individual, enters any game, competition, sales presentation or anything in life with even a subconscious sense of a challenge based on the past, it doesn’t take much for those subconscious thoughts to overtake the conscious part of the brain.

On the Saints first offensive play, Brees was pressured and made a bad decision to throw the ball, which was intercepted by the Rams. That moment could have conjured up those subconscious thoughts of how they have had trouble beating the Rams under current leadership. The Rams took over – threw a pass and the Saints defense put on one of the most pathetic and amateurish displays of trying to tackle a receiver in recent memory.
Those two plays – one on offense and one on defense - set the tone for the entire game. It was as if they could hear the voices in their heads saying, “You can’t beat the Rams.” The Saints appeared to psyche themselves out of being competitive. Granted, that happens to humans and the Saints are comprised of humans and to that degree the loss to the Rams is forgivable. But what the team (and all of us) can learn is to block out those discouraging voices when they pop into our heads.

The New England Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins Sunday in Miami and find themselves at 10-4, like the Saints. Comparing the Saints to the other teams that failed Sunday may be comforting, but is that comfort a way of excusing an inadequate performance?

I hope the Saints are critical enough of themselves to learn from the moment. It’s discouraging to think that we hoped they would have learned that lesson after the loss to Seattle. But the Saints came back after a short week and dominated a talented Carolina team that was riding an 8-game winning streak.

The Saints are a team that is proving the critics right about their inability to play well on the road and this week they travel to Carolina to play the Panthers, who will be at home with the motivation of seeking revenge for their embarrassing loss to the Saints on Sunday Night Football.

I tweeted out before the game Sunday against the Rams that it was a must-win for the Saints – not in terms of playoff math, but emotionally it was a must-win. Most of us were very disappointed the Saints were unable to refocus after the first half and overcome what seemed to be a psychological juggernaut. Where was the leadership of Payton and Brees on the field when the Saints were out of sync?

As disappointing as the loss was to the Rams, the Saints still control their destiny. But their destiny will be short-lived if they can’t get the voices out of their heads when things start out badly on the road. Let’s hope the outcome is different this weekend against Carolina.

Can you be a true Saints fan and be critical of the Saints – yes! You can love your children, but it’s important to let them know when they fail to do their best.

I also tweeted this out during the game – “If I have a really good show on WWL – I don’t assume that my next show will be good – so I apply myself just as much.”

guess being black and incompetent is not enough to keep folks feeling sorry for you Bam and not hold you to the same standards of excellence as whites ... but Chris Matthews still worships you and Scoot praises your support of þutt sex.

12/17/2013 3:21PM

The Saints will have a nice season but they are not an elite team.

The New Orleans crazies are ignorant about how good the Saints are——they are second tier. Carolina could easily win the division, but neither team will go far in the playoffs.

12/17/2013 3:25PM

When the New Giants won Super Bowls with not so stellar regular season records,

they were able to win on the road against good teams. The Saints are a weak road team. They are in a slow decline and will need to be rebuilt. Getting their coach back was worth 3-4 wins this season, but it is a mistake to think that suddenly the Saints are a Super Bowl contender.

Yes, we can be critical but we can still love our Saints. We were season ticket holders before Katrina - before the Saints were winning games and the stadium was not sold out. We are loyal - no matter what. We drive from Lafayette to attend games. Weare true Black and Gold!

12/17/2013 8:06PM

The piece of SH!T Democrats in the Senate just voted to cut pensions of wounded

soldiers who have to retire early and yet they increase spending on the lazy via food stamps and paying off donors via Green Energy scams among many others. The government wastes over 100 billion a year on nonsense studies and white elephant projects.

12/17/2013 8:19PM

Can you be critical of the Saints and still be a fan..

Yes you can..Just like you can be critical of a person in your family and still love them...I don't understand why saying something negative about your team makes you a bandwagon fan or not a true fan...Like the saying goes, I can talk about my family but YOU can't talk about them..Only fans are allowed to say negative things about their team...If they did poorly, they did poorly...The truth shall make you free...

12/17/2013 8:53PM

Yes

And most instances it's called constructive criticism. The question should be can the Saints take constructive criticism after a loss and use it for what it is intended? If they learn from the criticism then it becomes a good thing. If they shrugit off and say people aren't fans because of it then they will continue will more of the same type losses in the future.

12/17/2013 8:53PM

Sorry the Saints players are not your family unless they actually are.

Gee, you people are such lap dogs over people who care nothing about you. Get a life.

12/17/2013 9:11PM

Amazing that people live and die by what entertainers do.

People allow a bad performance by a stranger at their job to affect their mood and perhaps their productivity at their own job or with their own families. Pretty pathetic that people worship and worry about professional athletes. No wonder our culture isin such decay.

12/17/2013 9:16PM

You even hear nut jobs call WWL, who probably barely make 25 grand a year

worrying about whether Drew Brees, or some other player will get paid and be able to feed his family ... really. People waste way too much money and emotional energy on professional sports. It is entertainment—nothing more.

12/17/2013 9:26PM

Scoot has to discuss sports because he is a fill in when sports talk is not on.

People care mostly about sports for better or worse. Scoot needs ratings when his other nonsense falls flat.

12/17/2013 10:10PM

Scoot ear piercings.

Originally if a man had his left ear pierced it meant that he was gay and sexually dominant, and having his right ear pierced meaning gay and sexually submissive. Having both ears pierced means Scoot is into DPs.

12/17/2013 10:27PM

Ear Piercings

Or it could mean that Scoot simply is in show business like any million or so other DJs, rock singers, pop stars, and actors that pierce their ears. I'm glad low IQ isn't a communicable disease.

12/18/2013 9:49AM

“Ear Piercings” ... be sure and use a condom when you have þutt sex or

jérk off thinking about Scoot. Your man crush is sweet .. and by the way AIDS is a communicable disease. LOL.

12/18/2013 9:56AM

Scooter Winfrey in “show business” .... LOL.

He is a fill in when sports talk is not on and has to talk sports often to hold an audience.

12/18/2013 10:00AM

Scoot actually is gay and is cool with it.

He is a big promoter of gay marriage and a regular in the New Orleans gay community.

12/18/2013 11:05AM

Speaking of really low IQ scores ...

“Ear Piercings” voted for the incompetent clown Obama ... LOL .. some folks are just thick-headed trogs and a few chromosomes short of a full human.

12/18/2013 11:13AM

Obama launches holiday-themed healthcare website...

the petulant Bammy takes another SH!T on the taxpayers just before heading to another 4 million vacation ... but poor blacks worship Obama——amazing to watch African Americans continue to fail to assimilate.

12/18/2013 11:44AM

OK Scoot fans it is time for everyone to donate even a few cents to get a gift for

Perhaps if Scoot gets a TV show he will call it the Scoot Springer Show, and he can host cage matches.

12/18/2013 1:56PM

Obama adviser sorry for comparing GOP to Jonestown cult ...

Well, seem our so-called leaders are setting the example and the folks are joining in the hate-fest ... LOL ... The Obama Administration certainly ushered in a culture of hate and Obama and his crowd are reaping the rewards ... The White is a a sewer andTHE walking load of SH!T sits in the behind the Oval Office desk ... LOL ... America ... land of the dependent, government chattel with a banana eating DICKtátor
http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/12/18/podesta-gop-jonestown-cult/4109385/

12/18/2013 2:21PM

Unemployment

Troll - do you work for a living? I can't see you functioning in a diverse work environment. You sure have a lot of time to obsess about Obama and Scoot.

Perhaps next time we will not elect an Affirmative Action President ...

and elect someone who is actually competent and qualified.

12/18/2013 3:07PM

Polls

Why do people obsess so much over polls. The general public is moody and ill-informed and manipulated easily by fear and the media. I don't particularly care if "most" people think something if it's not rational. I more fear theirirrationality and prepperism than the elected and changeable via elections government.

It is really not an insult to call Obama a lying piece of SH!T. It is just the truth. His policies have PREVENTED an economic recovery and his lies and amateurism have made the US a laughingstock around the world and weakened the US as never before. Any insult issued to Obama is deserved. He has earned NO respect and should get none. He is a disgrace and frankly should be in jail for corruption. His Green Energy Scams and the fraud stimulus to funnel tax dollars back to his donors alone makes him one of the most corrupt presidents in modern history.

12/18/2013 7:47PM

Seems the liberal Scooter suçk up might be getting a clue.

He is really slow and perhaps should give his posts more thought.

12/18/2013 7:52PM

WWL needs to replace the Scooter Winfrrey Show with another good sports talk show.

WWL after 8 p.m. most evenings is boring and mostly nonsense so of course the effort is made to spice it up. Scooter needs to go back to playing music and promoting local bands. It is all his knows.

12/18/2013 9:34PM

Making Christmas Happy and Gay Part 1 ...

What You Need To Know About Anál Bleaching or Lightening.
http://gaylife.about.com/od/healthfitness/a/analbleaching.htm